This invention relates to a substrate for ink delivery systems particularly inkjet printers.
A typical inkjet printer construction includes an inkjet printhead mounted within a carriage which is moved back and fourth across the media being printed. A control system activates the printhead to deposit ink droplets onto the media to form images or text. Ink is provided to the printhead from an ink supply. The ink supply must provide a reproducible supply of ink to the inkjet printhead. It has been generally practiced to arrange the supply and other components such that a negative pressure or back pressure is maintained. The negative pressure must be sufficient so that a head pressure associated with the ink supply is kept at a value that is lower than atmospheric pressure thereby preventing leakage.
One way of maintaining negative pressure is to use a means for absorbing ink in the ink supply. Such a means of media typically has a porous structure which is inert to the ink. Various materials and structures have been proposed for the absorbing means or media: See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,751,527, 4,771,295, 5,633,082, 5,657,065, 6,460,985 and 6,485,136, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. However there is always a need for improved materials and ways of making such materials.